Niemi's Cup story incredible ... so far

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Antti Niemi now admits to getting giddy in private moments at several stages of the remarkable Stanley Cup story he has written so far.

But not now.

It's almost all real now, he swears.

"Not so much this year, but I think, yes, last year," he said of those private personal moments while backstopping the Chicago Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup last year.

Niemi began to stop marveling at being a guy who, not that long ago, was driving a Zamboni at the rink in his hometown of Vantaa, Finland, the moment he knew the salary-cap challenged Blackhawks were not going to be able to bring him back for an encore.

It was a heck of a ride while it lasted last summer. And he's still riding high, coming here with a 6-0 record in playoff series. He was arguably the best player on the ice for either team in the Vancouver Canucks' 3-2 win over his San Jose Sharks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.

"I took the Stanley Cup to two different cities, the city where I'm from and the city where I played," he said, referring to his time as a Lahti Pelican. "It was a fun, fun, hectic, hectic day. And to ride the Zamboni with the Cup at the same rink where I had the summer job driving the Zamboni ... that was a special moment."

As great a celebration it was for him, it was nothing compared to the one in Finland Sunday.

Niemi figures not many people back home were watching him play in Game 1.

"I've seen some pictures," he said of the celebrations for Finland's first win at the IIHF world championship in 16 years, a win made even better because it came against Sweden.

"I think they've been busy," said the netminder.

Niemi has been maybe the busiest Finn on this side of the Atlantic.

After stopping 40 of 42 shots in a Game 6 loss in the Detroit series, he made 38 saves in Game 7 and saw 38 more shots from the Canucks in the conference final opener.

Coach Todd McLellan was listing virtually everybody in his lineup who could have played better for the Sharks. But Niemi wasn't on the list of players he was asking to dial up their games.

"He was sharp," McLellan said.

The Sharks, of course, are more than familiar with Niemi's work dating back to the same series last year, when he was the difference in leading the Blackhawks to a series sweep.

"He was very, very good in that series," said McLellan. "He was one of the big reasons why Chicago had success and was able to move on. He left us frustrated many nights. He left us frustrated many nights. He left us scratching our heads trying to solve him many nights."

Niemi wasn't accepting compliments.

"I think I could have stopped some of those goals (in Game 1 against the Canucks)," he said. "It would have helped to have stopped one."

His teammates love him and volunteer that he never blames them.

"We feel we have the best goaltender in the world," said Joe Thornton, who won an Olympic gold medal with Roberto Luongo in goal in this very building 16 months ago.

"As a team, you have so much confidence going into each and every game just knowing we have a chance to win. If we play well in front of him we'll probably win, because he's that good. It's very comforting to have a guy like that behind you."

What is it about the playoffs that seem to bring out the best in him?

"I think it's probably the pressure," he said. "You get extra energy out of it."